Before they went back to Athena’s apartment that night, Mod, Arsenal, and Athena tracked down a suitable Fast-Response drone so Mod could hack it.

It was easier than he thought it would be.

Apparently, the biomech and drone patrols were following preset patterns. TINA hypothesized that most of her old systems were still down. In order to get those systems back up and running, Midas would have to keep current operations simple.

The biomech patrol that they’d run into before Manning Station was a standard formation—two mechs and three drones. But there were more Fast-Response drones in the city, so Mod’s team were able to find isolated drones patrolling gaps in between the normal patrols.

Arsenal and Athena waited nearby while Mod followed just behind one drone. He leapt up to the top of a third story building, moving with mechanical silence. With Mod still out of sight, TINA was able to wirelessly interrupt the drone’s transmission. Mod closed the rest of the gap and planted a small magnetized block on top of the drone. Another second later, Mod disappeared from view.

TINA took care of the rest. A swarm of nanites crept out of the block and into the drone’s interior. They disassembled their transport block for raw materials, then assembled the true payload inside. Once connected, TINA could connect to her old systems.

Right now, she just wanted to know for sure which systems were currently running and what systems Midas was reconstructing. If she pushed too hard, Midas might discover the exploit and patch it. So for now, the plan was to disconnect again as soon as possible to preserve the exploit for later.

Once TINA had access to the drone, she mapped the drone’s path. Then Mod used nanites to construct low-power wireless relays nearby. This way info could be relayed back to the servers in Athena’s apartment. While Mod and the others retreated, TINA delved into the lab’s systems.

“How long will it take?” Emmett asked as they skulked through the darkness of an alley.

“I should be finished by morning. I’m also tracking down Magus Rollan’s communications. My bandwidth is still limited.”

“And we’re grateful for your help,” Athena added.

Clara asked, “You’re sure you won’t get caught?”

“Yes. Midas is not at the lab, so the chances of being detected are negligible.”

“Famous last words,” Emmett muttered.

~

It was after 11 o’clock by the time they got back to Athena’s apartment.

As grateful as Emmett was to have TINA helping them avoid detection, it was painfully slow getting around the city. Only a week ago, Emmett could’ve made it clear across the city in that amount of time.

He sighed. What was the point in having cyborg legs if he couldn’t use them?

Clara nudged him with an armored elbow. “You did good tonight.”

Emmett managed to return a smile.

Despite making it back undetected, none of the three supers moved to change out of their suits. Emmett couldn’t shake the paranoia that a drone could have followed them. Athena was restless as well. She paced the kitchen, soda in hand.

Clara’s helmet slid back, the links collapsing on themselves until it sat in a bunch around her shoulders. She grabbed a soda for herself and sat on a stool at the counter.

“So, your friend’s a vampire?” Clara asked nonchalantly.

Athena stopped pacing and raised an eyebrow. “...Yes.”

“Are you going to tell us the story there?”

Emmett sat down on another stool next to Clara and leaned on the counter expectantly. Emmett could think of a dozen questions he wanted to ask Athena, but that was a good start.

Athena stood and leaned on the counter opposite them. “I guess I owe you some kind of story… But I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. I knew Lucile before she turned. She was a… Well, she was a young woman. We were in France. She worked for a small private library and helped me track down some or another book about magic—that’s not important.”

Emmett gave her a sidelong glance. “You don’t have an accent.”

Athena scoffed and took a long drink from her soda. “You’d be surprised how quick things like that change. Anyway… That library became a hub for my work. Lucy was indispensable and we soon became friends—well, as much as a super and a civilian can.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“A few years later, she was attacked by a young vampire. And he turned her. There’s a hierarchy in their societies. Only the elders are allowed to sire new vampires. The vampire who turned Lucy was put to death. According to their laws, the same thing would’ve happened to her, but I helped her escape.

“When a vampire is first turned, they’re at their weakest—both physically and mentally. I took care of Lucy and her daughter, Felina.”

Clara asked, “Were you two, you know…?

Athena smirked. “No. We were just close. Sometime soon after that, I became Felina’s godmother.”

Emmett, afraid to lose momentum, asked, “Where did you run to?”

“Well, we left France. Then we bounced around before we settled in Spain. I guess that doesn’t matter either. Years later, we both wound up here in the Allied States and eventually in Belport.”

Clara asked, “What happened to Felina?”

Athena paused for a moment, turning the almost empty can around in her hands. “She lived a long and beautiful life, and then she died. That’s what mortals do. That’s what Felina wanted to do. And as much as it pained Lucy, she respected her daughter’s wishes. …Still, a parent shouldn’t outlive their children.

“When a vampire is turned, they must drink their own blood and the blood of their sire. When Felina was close to the end, Lucy took some of her blood and kept it in a necklace. I think she hoped that her daughter would change her mind and give in… but she never did. That necklace is just a necklace, but it’s all that Lucy has left of her daughter.”

For a while, the three supers stayed silent. Emmett had so many questions he wanted to ask, but the wistfulness in Athena’s voice kept him from prying.

Athena backed away from the counter and threw her can in the trash. “That’s enough stories for one night. I think I’m going to turn in… Don’t hesitate to wake me if we find a lead.”

~ ~

Government of the Allied States

THE DIVISION OF SUPERHUMAN AFFAIRS

Overview of the mage organization known as the Felwardens

Introduction: Just as there are superhero and supervillain organizations across the world and within the Allied States, there are numerous magical organizations. Due to several incidents, including [Redacted], the DSA has ordered active monitoring of the Felwarden branches in the Allied States.

They specialize in elemental magic, but higher-ranking members have been known to supplement their arsenal with other schools, including enchantment and necromancy.

Origin: The Felwardens are a relatively young organization dating back to the early 1400’s in Italy. Since the group’s inception, the Felwardens have spread slowly across the globe. Currently, they are sects in 20 major countries.

Principles and Tenants: The Felwardens are magic absolutists. Though they utilize some modern conveniences and technology, they believe that magic is the preeminent power in the world. They tolerate modern borders and governments, but believe in a “magical divine right”—that the most powerful mages should rule the world. See notes on “Magocracy”.

To bring about this new world order, the Felwardens seek to resurrect their founding members. See notes on “The Fel Six”.

General Activity: Much of the Felwardens’ general activity centers around maintaining their power. This is done through indoctrination and training of new initiates, researching magic, and crafting magical items.

Their research and crafting necessitates a steady supply of artifact-quality heirlooms. While it is possible to imbue mundane items with magic, the most potent magical items use artifacts and relics. See notes on “Metaphysical Weight”.

Notable Conflicts in the Allied States:

Cabal of Jesiré

Elemental’s Guild

Vigilant Watchers

See notes on “Past Conflicts” and “Additional Conflicts”.

Organizational Structure:

Uninitiated—blanket term for all new recruits who are still undergoing their rites.

Mage—general field operatives focused on combat magic.

Scholar—a member specializing in non-combat magic and research.

Magus—a ranking member of the local branch. Depending on the size of the branch, there are up to ten Magus. Each represents a significant level of skill and prowess.

Branch Masters—each branch of the Felwardens has a single leader. They have risen to the top through sheer skill and power. Documented branch masters possess Class 3 capabilities.

High Council—comprising the most powerful and experienced members of the Felwardens, responsible for strategic decisions and oversight. Each of them represents multiple branches. Number of High Council members is unknown, but thought to be less than twenty. Each likely possessing Class 4 capabilities.

Ongoing Threat Assessment: The Felwardens have several powerful magic items and high-level magic available to them. Due to the nature of enchantment magic, in-person intelligence gathering should only be attempted by a skilled mage.

Recommend that technological surveillance methods be used instead. Despite magical communication, there is near 100% adoption of cellphones and 100% usage of internet among known Felwarden members.

See notes on “Surveillance Collaboration with the Binary Brotherhood”.

~ ~

Emmett laid back on the couch and set his phone on his chest.

It was almost two in the morning. Clara had gone to sleep an hour ago. Emmett wanted to stay up until TINA got a lead on the Felwardens…

Now, he just didn’t feel tired. It felt like he was sleeping less and less these days.

TINA warned him that might happen. Sleep was a vital part of how both the body and brain repaired themselves. But now, Emmett had nanites to repair himself.

That was fine. He had work to do. There were servers to build and countermeasures to research.

~ ~ ~